Apparatus for forming spirally wrapped plastic strip fiber



March 20, 1956 F. SLAVEK 2,738,641

APPARATUS FOR FORMING SPIRALLY WRAPPED PLASTIC STRIP FIBER Filed March17, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet l run \llllll 32 lllllllllllllllll II II"l1lllllll| IIIIIII IIII Illll .35 III .IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH. i 3

50 I I I l IIIIIllIlllIlll' LI-i 52 I 55 J WI/l I llllllllllllfi I mumRmm/c/r SLAVE f I IN V EN TOR.

March 20, 1956 F. SLAVEK 2,738,641

APPARATUS FOR FORMING SPIRALLY WRAPPED PLASTIC STRIP FIBER Filed March17, 1953 s Sheets-Sheet 2 M INVENTOR.

F. SLAVEK March 20, 1956 APPARATUS FOR FORMING SPIRALLY WRAPPED PLASTICSTRIP FIBER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 17, 1955 fkmar/cx JZAI/[AINVENTOR.

United States Patent Patented Mar. 19 56 .Anotherfeature, of theapparatus, is the fact that the overlap. between adjacent spiralbandsaround {the fibre maybe adjustedto vary the, bond betweenadjacentspiral bands.

Atfurther. feature of the-apparatus isthefact that the speedofgthematerials fed, thereto andthespiralling speed and feed may bevaried to suitthe type of fibre gxnother object is to vproducean.apparatus which canbe .ut ili zed with a wide range of plastic stripmaterials to produce a widerange. of sizes and typesof spirally wrap- Thc m n n drawin l u tr iv f. e s c b rnent of my invention, together withthe dies riptio n ofjts construction and the method of operation andutilization .tha s ta afi ta fi s Pla t a b aadaa ttfiste will servetosclarifyfurther objects and advantages of my in- ..vention. i

In the drawings: r 1,738,641 'Fjg. Lrepresents a partial front.elevation and a partial 5 a. .verticalse'ction throughithe assembledapparatus, the tubu- APPARATUS slaraverticalfidriveishaftfthe. hub ofthe upper support bracket therefor andthe central gear being shown insecx-Frederick-SlavekyNew'York,N. Y. .tion, as .shown. by the brokenline 11,.shown in Fig. 2, a the balance of Fig. l, representin a frontelevation of the "VA lFQ W M h 1 :1 ,?5 3 iN? fflt 10, apparatus,ishowingwthe .means of feeding the plastic 9 Claim (Cl, 57--12)Istrip.andthereinforcing thread to the apparatus, and the .-spirallingelements: of Y the apparatus. The spinner yoke showniin Fig. 1' hasbeenrotated through an angle of ap- ..proximately 90". from the positionshown in Fig. 2, in This invention relate t fibe d f a thi stri of.order to more .clearly present the function thereof. A plasticmaterials, and is particularly directed to an ap- P p n ry rotatedthrough anfifigl 0f paratus for producing a plastic fibre which is.formed about 180 from the positionshown'in Fig. Lisshown by by spirallywrapping a narrows trip of thinplasticmadot-dash liIieifl F V I terial,such as cellophane, around a fine central thread, aEig; 2 represents aright hand side elevation of the asor around h t i jt d f; sembledapparatus, shown in Fig.1, taken at 22, Fig. l, s The fib is 'f' l b ifl wrapping: a thi strip showing the spool feeding the reinforcingthread and the f i a j 'p l i ti' j t rigl; i h 116ph i f d .rollfeeding-the plastic 'strip in their respective positions, a qe1 1t 'ra1thmad, g fi 'b bi' ji d gfbjj d relative .t'o the feed rollers, also themethod of spiralling (the central thread in a p lur alit y of layers,the individual i and pp g theicmpleted fibfes- T spiral layers 65plastic strip material overlapping; one F 3 @Pl P fi PP i Shown in Figs-1 f anqtherrtoflform axgrnfpping, bindelv-vbelwqeg aqjgcgnt pi "and 2,with the thread spool and the plastic strip roll reba d ;.T f l l thr admay bee liminated, th plastic naoved to show the feed rollers wh chsupport the matestrip being spirally wrapped around itself, rials duringthe spiral wrapping operation, taken at 33,

, The conventional type of plastic wrapped .fibre is 5 1 l formedjfbyinfill-Zing,themqqnventiqnal y :Of f d 3 Fig. '4 is an enlargedschematic front elevation of the thread witli aiithin thread of,cellophane or other plastic al y Wfapped Pl t fib g y by the a atxlnalterial Wrapped around it i ashowmg the relative position, spacingand overlap of the b Thisv mate-rial h s been vfqund lmsuvilted tqmany:1 sp1ral bands of plastic strip used in forming it. ,.cations, .duetotheQrlatisiely; dnllfinishof the ,material, fa 5 an a t qh m vicrflcalq l rgga and due to the tendency, of the twistedthreads to .,unravel M16fnatenal shown In F Q E central F rwhen woven into, a fabrie .orsiinilarimateriall I 9 re and the i i' i Q S and qverlaprqfhhe H Theprimary. objectgof my invention ,toprovidean lt l t d q multiple y? f PP 9 Strip flPgaIamZ i plzodficingi filbr g aiif e riilerstood that thefolloWing description is orme y Splla y wrappmga puraiy o ayers v g g g22thassures; n ranettantra: n,essentia eature o t e apparatus is. e acttat a formed of thin plastic strip bands spirally wrapped ar ound {wethereof .P. y 1 1 1-1 ng h ri ml al'ipl-l-nialityiioffi spiralllliayexsor In the drawings the same ref rence numerals desi wtapqediar-qund ageultra-1 irFiIifgIEmgVihfigd as a nate the same partsthroughout thevarious views, e; 511k" cept where otherwise indicated.

h featmreofi thq-appamtu-sigithqlfaqt gala; 3 one embodiment of theapparatus, utilized to form the ma'dilyii to! produce j a1 spirally wrall ed plasticfib're is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. pl fi -51 F 5 f t Q dJalrb s and The apparatus is supported by a frame, comprisinga pair layersr I of substantially vertical column members 10 and 11,

L -m thiiifapparamsf thatti which are in turn supportedby a base 12, theoperating utiliz ed With equ"}1.facility to WW-l mechanism being .drivenby a motor, or other suitable Iof wldthssandtthlcknessesiQfJPIQSUFSmP:matgnalsnthus driveYmember (not shown), which drives apulley 14 producing awiderangeof fibre d ameters and textures. 55v

attached to a main drive shaft 15, rotatably supported by l theverticalframe columns 10 and Ill The plastic. strip material 16, in the form ofa nar- .row. strip oflthin cellophane, or similar plastic sheetinaterial,=is\.fed. fromfi'a. substantially cylindrical roll 17, mountedabove the. vertical frame members. and an'gularly disposed; thereto,the.roll 17 being located substantially parallel to a pair of angularlymounted feed rollers 19 ,a 11 l; 20,.which are.mounted at the top of theframe in a .manner hereinafter .described in greater detail. The plasicstriproll 'll isjtrunn ionedpn a cylindrical shaft1 21 A spool22,.feedijng a fine silk thread 23, or a similar t" ead,' which forms areinforcement or centerof the is: rotatably. supported above the frame,the spool v being loc ated in alignment with a tubular vertical drive 3thread 23 being fed through the center of the tubular vertical shaft inthe manner indicated in Fig. 1.

The hollow tubular shaft 25 is driven by a bevel gear 27, attachedthereto, the bevel gear 27 meshing with a mating bevel pinion 23, whichis mounted on one end of the main drive shaft 15.

A countershaft 30, located substantially parallel to the tubularvertical shaft, has a pair of spur pinions 31 and 32 attached to theupper and lower ends thereof, respectively, as indicated in Fig. l. Theupper spur pinion 31 is driven by a spur gear 33, attached to the upperend of the rotating tubular shaft 25, the lower spur pinion 32 meshingwith the upper gear 34 of a pair of cluster gears, trunnioned on thetubular vertical shaft 25, the lower spur idler 35, integral with theupper cluster gear 34 meshing with and driving a spinner pulley drivegear 36, which is attached to the upper end of a spinner pulley driveshaft 37, located substantially parallel to the tubular vertical shaft25, in substantial alignment with the lower end thereof.

The upper and lower support members 39 and 40 of a bearing bracket, thehub of each of which surrounds the tubular vertical shaft, support theparallel countershaft 30, on which the spur pinions 31 and 32 aremounted, a bushing 42, fitted to the hub of each of the bracket supportmembers supporting the outer circumference of the tubular vertical shaft25. A vertical connecting member 41, integral with the bearing bracketsupport members 39 and 46, is attached to the left-hand column 10 of theframe.

The countershaft 36 is trunnioned in the outer ends of the arms 44 and45 of the bearing support members 39 and 40, respectively, the arms 44and 45 being integral with the hubs of the bearing support membersrespectively, and substantially perpendicular to the hub axis thereof.

A substantially L-shaped spinner yoke 46, the central hub 47 of which isattached to the lower end of the tubular vertical shaft 25, is mountedat the bottom of the vertical shaft, below the cluster gears 34 and 35.

An auxiliary boss 48, parallel to the central hub 47, integral with thehorizontal arm 4-9 of the spinner yoke, is located opposite asubstantially vertical arm 50 depending from and substantiallyperpendicular to the horizontal arm of the spinner support yoke 46.

The spinner pulley drive shaft 37, to the upper end of which the spinnerpulley drive gear 36 is attached, is trunnioned in the auxiliary boss 48of the spinner yoke 46, a spinner pulley 52, the rim 53 of which is ofconcave arcate contour, being attached to the bottom of the spinncrpulley drive shaft, below the horizontal arm 49 of the spinner yoke, inthe manner indicated in Figs. 1 and 2.

The spirally wound fibre 54, shown in detail in Figs. 4 and 5, andhereinafter described in greater detail, is fed from the bottom of thetubular shaft to a spool 55, trunnioned on a shaft 56 attached to thebase 12 of the frame, in a manner hereinafer described in greaterdetail.

A pair of feed rollers 19 and 2t], individually trunnioned on a pair ofparallel shafts 60 and 61, and mounted at the outer end of the side arms62 and 62a of a substantially U-shaped yoke, adjustably supported at thetop of the upper frame cross-member 63, is provided to guide and feedthe plastic strip 16 and the silk thread 23 from the roll 17 and thespool 22, respectively, to the hollow center of the tubular verticalshaft 25.

The angular position of the feed rollers 19 and 20 and that of the taperoll parallel thereto, are adjusted so that angle of approach of theplastic strip 16, relative to the vertical shaft axis, is determined bythe spiral angle of the strip, wrapped around the central reinforcingthread.

The U-shaped yoke is supported by a tubular member 64, which is attachedto the upper frame cross-member by a pair of pillow blocks 65 and 65a,the tubular member 64 rotatably supporting a roller drive shaft 66,fitted to the center thereof.

A stepped cone pulley 67, attached to one end of the roller drive shaft66, is driven by an oppositely tapered stepped cone pulley 68, attachedto the outer end of the main drive shaft 15, by a belt 69, of circularcross-section, V-form, or other suitable cross-section, conforming tothe convolutions in the cone pulleys 67 and 68, the speed of the rollerdrive pulley being varied by the position of the belt relative to thepulleys, thus obtaining a wide range of pulley ratios.

A bevel pinion 70, attached to the inner end of the roller drive shaft66, meshes with a mating bevel gear 71, attached to a rotatingintermediate roller drive shaft 72, trunnioned in the side arms 62 and62a of the yoke, the bevel gear intermediate shaft being substantiallyparallel to the roller support shafts 60 and 61, and located apredetermined distance from the fixed roller support shaft 61, the endsof which are attached to the outer ends of the side arms 62 and 62a ofthe yoke, the ends of the shaft being held in place by set screws, orother suitable locking means.

A spur pinion 73 attached to the intermediate roller drive shaft 72,adjacent the left hand side arm 62 of the yoke, drives a spur gear 74,attached to the adjacent end of the lower feed roller 20, which istrunnioned on the lower feed roller shaft 61, the fixed feed rollershaft 61 being attached to the outer ends of the side arms 62 and 62a ofthe yoke, a set screw or other locking means being inserted in the yokearms in the manner indicated in Fig. 3.

A pair of angularly adjustable roller support arms 76 and 76a isattached to the outer ends of the fixed feed roller shaft 61, the rollersupport arms being located outside and substantially parallel to theyoke side arms 62 and 62a. The end of each roller support arm 76 and76a, attached to the fixed feed roller shaft 61 has a slot 77therethrough, a lock screw 78 inserted through the upper segment of thearm and threadably fitted to the lower segment thereof, clamping the armsegments, adjacent the slot 77, to the roller support shaft 61.

A pair of sliding blocks 80, each of which is slidably fitted within achannel 81 cut through the center of the outer portion of each rollersupport arm, adjustably supports the ends of the adjustable rollersupport shaft 60, each end of the shaft being inserted through anopening in the adjacent block, each sliding block being attached to theshaft by a set screw or other suitable attaching means.

An adjusting screw 82, threadably inserted in the outer end of eachroller support arm, beyond the channel 81, is provided in each arm, thelower end of the screw being attached to the adjacent sliding block toadjust the position of the block, relative to the roller support arm,thereby adjusting the position of the adjustable roller support shaft60, relative to the fixed roller support shaft 61, and in that manneradjusting the spacing between the feed rollers 19 and 2t), and adjustingthe pressure of the feed rollers against the plastic strip 16, fedtherebetween. A lock nut 83 is threadably fitted to each adjusting screw32, to lock the adjusting screw in the adjusted position, therebyretaining the block 80 in its adjusted position and maintaining therequired spacing between the feed rollers.

The spur gear 74 meshes with a similar spur gear 85, attached to theadjacent end of the upper feed roller 19, which is trunnioned on theadjustable feed roller shaft 60, to drive the upper feed roller 19.

In this manner, the two feed rollers are tiltable relative to the frame,by adjusting the angular position of the Ushaped yoke. The angular axialrelation of the upper or adjustable feed roller, relative to the lowerfeed roller in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal roller axis, isadjustable by angularly tilting the roller support arms 76 and 76a aboutthe fixed roller support shaft 61, the spacing between the rollers beingadjusted by moving the sliding blocks 80 in the manner hereinbeforedescribed.

As indicated in Fig. 1, the plastic strip roll 17 is located i Iof. thespinner yoke.

a above the feed rollers 19 and in a position substantially r;parallelntort-he fecdtrollenilShamh20amtenable the plastic strip 16tolbezfed lbetweenatli r feedrrollersyin a, direction substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinalaxisthereof.

-.A-'.circumferential;groove 187,; -of substantially -1'eclttangular.-cross-sec,tion, f, is, tout; raroundsthe router circum- .-.-ference.of theaoutenfeed roller 19.

.The plastic strip: 16.-.is;fcd :betweennthetfeed rollers, 19 .and: 20int a position substantially parallel .itol one. edge ,ttofthe-circumferential .groovet' 87 ,:-.the:strip being guidedvdirected.from. the rollerstoward lthe center .Of the tubular averticalshaft"25.The fine: reinforcing thread 23, fedv from a spool122-Jocatedtaboveuthe rollers 19 and:20, is directedtoward-athegroovel87. ,inl-the center ofithe upper feed roller 19;through an opening in the-head=of a guide 88,

.1 which is .attachednto the ,toph of. the left-hand vertical -l columnllll of the frame,.- the -guide. head being located in.substantiallalignment.with the center of the tubular ver- -.tical.shaftQS, in order-to feed the-reinforcing thread toward the. center ofthewertical shaft; :the angular directionloft theiplastic strip 16,relative tol the shaft, being such that the plastic:strip joins thereinforcing thread at atpoint iabove thetop ofnthe tubular verticalshaft 25, in substantial. :alignment with lthe center 50f the passagesntherethroughwso .thattthe pla'stic strip' 16 'and the reina forcingthread* 23. l are" --fed 1 simultaneously through i the .ncentralpassagelinl the tubulartverticalshaft -,the-strip 2 J16 being spirally 1Wrapped. around thetcentrah thread in a mannenhereinafterdescribcddn-greater detail,-to form .:--.t he:completed1fibre; shown inFigs 4 and 5.

The angle formed by-lthe feed rolls 19 and 20,-relative tottheverticalishaft; is so adjusted thatthe plastic strip 16 approaches athelcentral thread 23- at an angle corresponding- ,to the spiralangle-ofthestrip--relativetothe longitudinal fibre axis.

'When the spirally wrapped fibre 54-leaves the bottom;

and; :20 relative. to the yerticall-shaftgwh 111116 angle ;of.approach,of.;t;he plastimjstrip relative tothe .nmateri l. [ar und I thezr tinl-threa s..a 'th WW 2 5 tween adjacent strips is determined feedrollers19 hde ermin v rt cal zaxismf: th ttubularrsha t; 5. through, which Ithe t materials ,are' fed.

The number of turns of completed fibre wrappfidaround 1 the spinnerpulley rim;53 tensions; the ;fibre so that univshaft QS, which holds thecompleted fibre.

3 The leadof the spiralbands 10f spirally wrapped plastic strip arundathe central) reinforcing; thread is determined by the angle ofapproachizof thelplastic:strip.16 relative to the vertical shaft ,axis,.coupled with therelation between the rotational rate;;of-the.-spinneryoke 46 and the rate go at. which theplastic strip 116.is fed-from the roll '17, which ;determined -,by.the. rate at'whichs theeompletedlspirally wound fibre is drawn-throughmthe. tubular verticalshaft by the spinner pulley.

Where thefeed rate, of thefinished, spirally. wound fibre is increased,relative-to. the-rate. of rotation of the i horizontal 31111 .49. :of,thelspinner yoke, the number of ,layerstof spirally ,wrapped striparound the reinforcing h ad23isincreased, thus increasingthe diameter ofthe completed fibre.

The pressure exerted on the overlapping area 93 of the strip .bands.94,-during. the winding process, caused-i-by tthetension .011] the .plasticstrip I the t ial, thus, fibr w i i during the, winding thereof, coupledwith the inherent eristics 'of-thezplastic strip material, suchascelloforms a bond..between. theroverlappingarea of ,outer spiral. bandand thetadjacent band of the strip providing a relatively. tightspirally wound will not itlnravel. under. normal operating phane,

conditions. and normal .usage.

; r elativclyt lniform rate 1 the spinnerpullem P fibre of; uniformxldi5 ing; the ,rate of rotation of-the spinner .,;of the,steppedcone-pulleys 67 and 68.

. :of the spinnen yoke, toward-the collecting spool;

eamOHIItECl OH a-vertical =shaft 56,-'attached--to'the -base '12 'of:'the frame,-around which ittis wound -by-the rotation :The operation. :of1 the. E follows:

iThe plastic strip 16, which is -fedfrom l.- between the feedrollers-19' and it through the center-of the tubular tween the feedrollers19 and-20;

"apparatus is-- substantially as the strip roll =20;'-toward;th epassage shaft'QS; gripped bepassagein the qenter of thetllblllarystiG-fll, Sh ft re n orci gt readheing l rect dtowa dth sha t P sa .T e.rota ion of the spinn r yqkeatfi, att e bo o f,

a, the @tubulan- .shaft,, spirally ,wraps the -plastiei strip. 216

around;,.the ee tranr n owl st hre d 1 3m l1 QYQE Pi b eing formed;between r1dj apgentl :spirahbands .3941 of l the p astic-st ptas it iswam feed rollers, relative .to the top maintain; the,-spirallyltwound'fibre at. the bottom of the vertical shaft insubstantialaxial ,Bymaintaining a. relatively uniform tension on theplastic strip 51 6, obtained. by. adjusting the tension between the feedrollers 19 .and-s'20and by maintaining a of rotation of the spinner yokeand mounted: .thereon, a spirally wound ameter l and. relatively uniform1 spiral lead is ;Obt3l 16d;z,ih6i diameter andv leadbeing varied byvarying the tension betweenttheafeed rollers and adjustyoke-46 by meansThe! guide rollerr89 located atthe center of the bottom ;ofthetubularvertical shaft 25, and the location of the of the vertical shaft25,

alignment with the plastic strip l6 ,andthe reinforcing thread'at thetop ofthe vertical shaft 25, so thattherrate of spiralling and the leadbetween adjacent spiral'ba-nds is maintalned relatively uniform.

fed; toward the apparatus.

The reinforcing threadZS -at the center of the. spirally wound fibre maybe eliminated the plastic strip being wrapped-around itself insubstantially thesame manner.

A somewhat,more uniform errterior s urface of the spirally Wo fibre iSob ain d y... t zins a c ntr l o thread 23, of the type employed.

I e i me fit sl nish i ra y l u fib y berar e yy a yi at e d m t r. theei or i thread '23,. and varying thethickness. or ,width of the plasticstrip .The lead of=thespirally wrapped bands and theoverlap betweenadjacenttspiral ands. maybe .varied- .by varying the width of: theplasticstrip 16 in conformity with the finisheddiameterof.thespirallywound fibre required, and l v the spiral leadrequired.

The number of. layersa'ofr plasticstrip-forming the spirallywrappedzfibre mayabewaried by adjusting the rotaqTg e spi :ens eztonndtbyet diriduanthaadslofist in r tional speed of the spinner yoke, andvarying the-rate-of feeding the strip and the reinforcing thread to thetubular vertical shaft passage.

The outside diameter of the fibre may therefore be varied by varying thenumber of layers of spirally wrapped strip bands, forming the fibre,varying the thickness of the plastic strip, varying the width of theplastic strip and otherwise adjusting the lead between adjacent bands ofplastic strip.

The method of supporting and driving the tubular vertical shaft may bealtered considerably, the essentials of the construction and operationthereof remaining the same.

The method of supporting and adjusting the spacing between the feedrollers may be altered considerably, the primary feature being theadjustment of the spacing and pressure between the feed rollers infeeding the plastic strip to the vertical shaft passage.

The method of supporting the feed rollers above the frame, and themethod of adjusting the angular relation between the feed rollers,relative to the tubular vertical shaft may be altered considerably, theessential features of the operation of the feed rollers remaining thesame as hereinbefore described.

The method of supporting the spinner yoke and the spinner pulley, andthe method of driving the spinner pulley may be altered, or variedconsiderably, the essential features of the operation of the spinneryoke and spinner pulley, that of spirally wrapping the plastic striparound the central thread to form the finished fibre remainingessentially the same.

The width and thickness of the plastic strip fed to the vertical shaftpassage may be varied considerably, depending upon the material of whichthe plastic strip is made and the diameter and texture of the finishedfibre required for a particular application.

The ratio of the speed of rotation of the feed rollers, relative to thespinner yoke and the spinner pulley may be varied considerably byaltering the ratios between the various gears in the drive gear trainsused, the ratio adopted depending upon the width of the plastic stripused and the number of layers of spirally wrapped plastic strip utilizedto form the finished fibre.

The method of transferring the finished fibre from the tubular verticalshaft to the collecting spool may be altered considerably, on conditionthat suitable gripping means is provided to grip and support thefinished fibre during the spiral Wrapping operation.

Instead of a single strip of plastic strip material, fed from a singleroll, as shown in the drawings and hereinbefore described, a pluralityof plastic strips may be utilized to form a plurality of layers ofspirally wrapped plastic strip, forming the spiral wrappings of thecornpleted fibre, the feeding angles of the individual strips, and theangle of approach of each strip to the vertical shaft passage beingadjusted to provide the selected spiral angle and spiral lead of thefinished fibre.

Where multiple plastic strips are used, a plurality of sets of feedrollers, individually adjustable for tension may be provided, theangular relation between the individual sets of feed rollers and thetubular vertical shaft being adjustable to provide the proper spiralangle and lead for each individual plastic strip in the multiple stripunit to provide a properly co-ordinated homogeneous multiple layerspirally wound fibre.

The cone pulleys driving the tubular vertical shaft and the feed rollersmay be altered considerably, or replaced by other suitable drive means,provided adequate provision is made for adjusting and maintaining theratio between the rotational speed of the feed rollers and the speed ofthe tubular vertical shaft, and the spinner yoke.

it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that applicants principlesmay be applied in many modified forms beyond those illustrated anddescribed herein, and therefore the following claims should not belimited to the forms illustrated but be deemed to apply to allequivalents as well.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for forming a fibre consisting of a central thread, witha thin plastic strip spirally wrapped around the central thread,comprising a frame, a tubular, substantially vertical shaft having acentral passage therethrough rotatably supported by the frame, a pair ofcylindrical rotatable feed rollers supported by said frame, means forsupplying a thin narrow plastic strip toward the feed rollers, means forfeeding a fine central thread toward the tubular shaft passage, saidfeed rollers being angularly adjustable relative to the tubular shaftaxis, one of said feed rollers being movable relative to the other toadjust the gripping pressure between the feed rollers against theplastic strip fed therebetween, the feed rollers being positioned toangularly direct the plastic strip toward the tubular shaft passage,co-ordinated with the plastic strip spiral angle, means attached to theend of the tubular shaft, opposite the feed rollers, for rotating theplastic strip within the tubular shaft passage to progressively spirallywrap the plastic strip around the central thread, with an overlapbetween adjacent spiral strip elements, a rotatable fibre retainingmember supported by said plastic strip rotating means, said fibreretaining memher being operative to progressively retain sections of thespirally wrapped fibre during the spiral wrapping process, meansco-ordinating the rotational speed of the plastic strip feed rollerswith the tubular shaft rotation, and means co-ordinating the rotation ofthe spirally wrapped fibre retaining means at the opposite end of thetubular shaft with the plastic strip feed roller rotation to form auniformly spaced spirally wrapped fibre.

2. An apparatus for forming a fibre consisting of a central thread, witha thin plastic strip spirally wrapped around the central thread,comprising a frame, a tubular shaft having a central passagetherethrough rotatably supported by the frame, a pair of cylindricalrotatable feed rollers supported by said frame, means for supplying athin, narrow plastic strip to the feed rollers, means for feeding a finecentral thread to the tubular shaft passage, said feed rollers beingangularly adjustable relative to the tubular shaft axis, one of saidfeed rollers being movable relative to the other to adjust the grippingpressure between the feed rollers against the plastic strip fedtherebetween, the feed rollers being positioned to angularly direct theplastic strip toward the tubular shaft passage, co-ordinated with theplastic strip spiral angle, a spinner yoke attached to the end of thetubular shaft opposite the feed rollers, a spinner pulley rotatablysupported by the spinner yoke, said spinner pulley being substantiallyparallel to the tubular vertical shaft and located a short distancetherefrom, the spirally wrapped plastic strip fibre being progressivelywound around the spinner pulley to retain the fibre fed from thevertical shaft passage, the rotation of the spinner yoke beingco-ordinated with the feed rollers rotation to form a spirally wrappedfibre with an overlap between adjacent spiral strip elements, and meansco-ordinating the rotational speed of the spinner pulley relative to theplastic strip feed rollers rotation to form a uniformly spaced, spirallywrapped fibre.

3. An apparatus for forming a fibre consisting of a central thread, witha thin plastic strip spirally wrapped around the central thread,comprising a frame, a tubular vertical shaft having a central passagetherethrough rotatably supported by the frame, means driving saidtubular shaft, a pair of substantially cylindrical feed rollers mountedin close proximity to the tubular shaft, angularly adjustable meanspivotally attached to the frame rotatably supporting said feed rollers,one of said feed rollers being fixed in position relative to theangularly adjustable roller support means, means fitted to saidangularly adjustable feed roller support means for adjusting theposition of the second feed roller relative to the fixed position feedroller, means for supplying a thin narrow strip of plastic materialtoward the feed rollers, means for moving the adjustable feed rollerrelative to the fixed feed roller to adjust the circumferential spacingbetweenrthe feed: rollers,

rotatably supported by thezispinner yoke,-.said spinner pulley beingsubstantially parallel to' thetubular vertical shaft and located: ashort distance itherefromgtherspirally wrapped fibre being wound aroundthee'spinner pulley to restrain the fibre fedifromfthe tubular shaftrassage during the :spiraLwrapping: process, a fibrewreceiving spoolrotatably supported'bythe frame, '-the fibre receiving spool being insubstantial alignment with the f tubular shaft longitudinal axisgmeans'attach'ed to' the spin--- ner yoke operative towind the spirallywrapped fibre, delivered from the spinner pulley, around the fibrereceiving'spool, the rotation of the spinneryoke being coordinated 'withthe stripfeed rollers speedandangle to spirally wrap the plastic striparound the central thread, "means co-ordinating the rotational-*speed ofthe feed rollers relative .to the tubular sh'aft, and means coordinatingthe rotational speedof the spinner pulleyrelative to the feedrollersrotation to' form a uniformly spaced spirally wrapped-fibre.

'4. An apparatus for forming aplastic fibre consisting of a thin plasticstrip spirally wrappedaround the'longitudinal fibre axis,-comprisinga-frame; a tubular vertical shaft having a central-passage"therethroughrotatably supported by the-frame, a pair of cylindrical, rotatable" feedrollers supported by the frameymeansfeeding a thin narrowplastic'striptoward the feed rollers,'the' feed rollers being angularlyadjustable'relativeto the tubular shaftaxis, one of said feed rollersbeing movable relative to the other to adjustthe circumferentialgripping 1 pressure between the feed rollers against the plastic stripfed therebetween, means attached to-the endof the tubular shaft,-opposite the feed rollers; for rotating the plastic strip within thetubular" shaft passage to progressively spirally wraptheplasticstriparound the longitudinal fibre axis; with an overlap betweenadjacent spiralstrip elements, a spinner pulley rotatably supported bythe plastic strip rotating means, said spinner pulley beingsubstantially parallel to the vertical'sh'aft"axis,"and located a shortdistance therefromgthespirally wrapped fibre being wound around thespinner pulley to restrain the fibreduring the spiral wrapping process,means supported by, the frame for receiving the spiral Wrapped fibre fedfrom the spinner pulley, and-means supportedby saidrplastic striprotating means operative to guide the spirally WOllIldfiblB from thespinner pulley and simultaneouslywind the' spirally wrapped fibre aroundthe fibre receiving means, means co-ordinating the rotation of theplastic strip rotating means with the plastic strip feed rollers speedand angle, and means co-ordinating the rotational speed of the spinnerpulley relative to the feed rollers rotation to form a uniformly spacedspirally wrapped fibre.

5. An apparatus for forming a fibre consisting of a thin plastic stripspirally wrapped around the longitudinal fibre axis, comprising a frame,a tubular shaft having a 60 central passage therethrough rotatablysupported by the frame, a substantially U-shaped yoke pivotallysupported by the frame, a feed roller rotatably supported by said yokein a relatively fixed position, a cylindrical projecting shaft rotatablysupporting the fixed feed roller fitted to said yoke, a pair ofangularly adjustable roller support arms attached to the fixed feedroller shaft, a second feed roller rotatably supported by the rollersupport arms substantially parallel to the fixed feed roller, the secondfeed roller having a cylindrical projecting shaft extending beyond theends thereof, means slidably supported by the roller support armsslidably supporting the second feed roller support shaft, an adjustingscrew threadably fitted to each of said roller support arms operative tomove the cylindrical support shaft of the second feed rollerrelantiveato :the fixed feedroller support tshaftatoladjustezthecircumferential a spacing between? the l' feed zr'ollers; :means forfeedinga narrow plastimstrip towardfthe feed-rollers, saidfeed rollersbeing operative to grip the iplasticistrip 5 andtfeed wthe plasticrstripatan angle tottheatubular. shaft 2. axis, meansmounted adjacent theendof :the tubular a shaft," opposite the feed rollers [operative to-rotate: the elplastic zstrip within the tubularrshaft passage to form.a uspirally wrapped fibre, with an overlap between adjacent lo- -plasticstrip spiral elements, a 'spinner. pulley rotatably supported by. theplastic strip rotating means, saidrspinner -:pu1ley beingsubstantiallyziparallel to the tubular shaft 'axis,jthe spirally wrappedfibre being wrapped around 'l-the spinner pulley to restrain thespirally wrapped plastic l5rpfibrei=during the spiral Wrapping process,.meansco- =ordinating the rotational speed of the feed rollers' with thetubular shaft rotation, and means co-ordinating the rotation of'thespinner pulley at the opposite end of'the tubular shaftwith thefeedrollers rotation.

' 6. An apparatus for forming a plastic fibre, consisting of a thinplastic strip spirally wrapped around the longih tudin'al fibreaxis,cornprising a frame, a tubular vertical shaft' having axcentralpassage therethrough rotatably supported by the frame, a pairofcylindrical, rotatable j -feed rollers mounted near the tubular shaft,means feeding a thin narrow plastic strip toward the feed rollers,

- a pair-of cylindricalishafts rotatably supporting thefeed rollers, asubstantially U-shap'ed'yoke pivotally supported by'the frame supportingone of said feed roller shafts in a relatively fixed position, a pair ofangularly adjust- -able roller supportarms attached to the fixed feedroller shaft, means slidably supported by the rollersupport armsadjustably-supporting the second feed roller support'shaftgnmeans fittedto said feed roller support arms for moving the movable feed rollersupport shaft-rela- -t-ive to the fixed feed roller shaft to adjust thecircumferential spacing between the feed rollers, means attached tothe'end of the tubular shaft, opposite the feed rollers,

for rotatingthe plastic strip within the tubular shaft 40 passage toprogressively spirally wrap the plastic 'strip -aroundthe longitudinalfibre axis, with an overlap-between adjacent spiral strip elements, aspinner pulley 1 rotatably supported by the plastic strip rotatingmeans,

:said spinner pulley'being substantially parallel to the vertical shaftaxis and. located a short distance therefrom,

the spirally wrapped fibre being wound around the spinner pulley torestrainthe fibre during-the spiral wrap- 1 ping process, meanssupported by the frame for receiving the spirally wrapped fibre from thespinner pulley, and means'rotatably supported by the plastic striprotating wmeans operative 'to simultaneously guide the spirally wrappedfibre from the spinner pulley and wind the fibre aroundithefibrereceiving means, means co-ordinating the rotation of the plastic striprotating means with the plastic strip feed rollers speed and angle,means co-ordimating the rotational speed of the feed rollers relative tothe tubular shaft, and means co-ordinating the rotational speed of thespinner pulley relative to the feed rollers rotation,

7. An apparatus for forming a fibre consisting of a central thread, witha thin plastic strip spirally wrapped around the central thread,comprising a frame, a tubular shaft having a central passagetherethrough rotatably supported by the frame, a pair of cylindrical,rotatable feed rollers mounted near the tubular vertical shaft, one of.

said feed rollers having a circumferential groove, therearound, meansfor supplying a thin, narrow plastic strip toward the feed rollers, apair of cylindrical shafts rotatably supporting the feed rollers, asubstantially U-shaped yoke pivotally supported by the frame supportingone of said feed roller shafts in a relatively fixed position, a pair ofangularly adjustable roller support arms attached to the fixed feedroller shaft, each of said roller support arms having a parallel facedslot therethrough, a pair of blocks slidably fitted to the rollersupport arm slots supporting the movable feed roller shaft, means formoving said blocks relative to the fixed feed roller shaft to adjust thecircumferential spacing between the feed rollers, the feed rollers beingpositioned to angularly direct the plastic strip toward the tubularshaft passage, co-ordinated with the plastic strip spiral angle, meansfor feeding a fine central thread through the feed roller groove towardthe tubular shaft passage, means attached to the end of the tubularshaft opposite the feed rollers, for rotating the plastic strip withinthe tubular shaft passage to pro gressively spirally wrap the plasticstrip around the central thread, with an overlap between adjacent spiralstrip elements, a rotatable fibre retaining pulley supported by saidplastic strip rotating means, the spirally wrapped fibre being woundaround said fibre retaining pulley to progressively retain sections ofthe fibre during the spiral wrapping process, means co-ordinating therotational speed of the strip feed rollers with the tubular shaftrotation, and means co-ordinating the fibre retaining means at theopposite end of the tubular shaft with the feed rollers.

8. An apparatus for forming a fibre consisting of a central thread, witha thin plastic strip spirally wrapped around the central thread,comprising a frame, a tubular vertical shaft having a central passagetherethrough rotatably supported by the frame, means driving saidtubular shaft, a pair of substantially cylindrical feed rollers mountedin close proximity to the tubular shaft, angularly adjustable meanspivotally attached to the frame rotatably supporting said feed rollers,said angularly adjustable roller support means retaining one of saidfeed rollers in a relatively fixed position, means for adjusting theangular relation of the second of said feed rollers toward therelatively fixed roller, in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinalroller axes, means for supplying a thin narrow strip of plastic materialtoward the feed rollers, means for feeding a fine central thread towardthe tubular shaft passage, means for moving the adjustable feed rollerrelative to the fixed feed roller to adjust the circumferential spacingbetween the feed rollers, a spinner yoke attached to the end of thetubular shaft opposite the feed rollers, a spinner pulley rotatablysupported by the spinner yoke, said spinner pulley being substantiallyparallel to the tubular vertical shaft and located a short distancetherefrom, the spirally wrapped fibre being wound around the spinnerpulley to restrain the fibre fed from the tubular shaft passage, duringthe spiral wrapping process, a fibre receiving spool rotatably supportedby the frame, substantially parallel to the tubular shaft axis, saidspinner yoke having 21 depending arm substantially parallel to the fibrereceiving spool axis, opposite the spinner pullcy, the depending armhaving a plurality of guide members rotatably fitted thereto to receivethe spirally wrapped 12 fibre from the spinner pulley and wind the fibrearound the fibre receiving spool, the rotation of the spinner yoke beingco-ordinated with the strip feed rollers speed and angle to form aspirally wrapped fibre with an overlap between adjacent spiral stripelements, and means coordinating the rotational speed of the spinnerpulley relative to the feed rollers rotation.

9. An apparatus for forming a plastic fibre consisting of a thin plasticstrip spirally wrapped around the longitudinal fibre axis, comprising aframe, a tubular vertical shaft having a central passage therethroughrotatably supported by the frame, a pair of cylindrical, rotatable feedrollers supported by the frame, means feeding a thin narrow plasticstrip toward the feed rollers, the feed rollers being angularlyadjustable relative to the tubular shaft axis, one of said feed rollersbeing movable relative to the other to adjust the circumferentialgripping pressure between the feed rollers against the plastic strip fedtherebetween, a spinner yoke attached to the end of the tubular shaft,opposite the feed rollers, for rotating the plastic strip within thetubular shaft passage to progressively spirally wrap the plastic striparound the longitudinal fibre axis, with an overlap between adjacentspiral strip elements, a spinner pulley rotatably supported by thespinner yoke, said spinner pulley being substantially parallel to thevertical shaft axis and located a short distance therefrom, a guidepulley rotatably supported by the spinner yoke for directing the fibrefrom the tubular shaft passage to the spinner pulley, the spirallywrapped fibre being wound around the spinner. pulley to restrain thefibre during the spiral wrapping process, means supported by the framefor receiving the spiral wrapped fibre from the spinner pulley, saidspinner yoke having a depending arm substantially parallel to the fibrereceiving means, opposite the spinner pulley, the depending arm having aplurality of guide members rotatably fitted thereto to receive thespirally wrapped fibre from the spinner pulley and wind the fibre aroundthe fibre receiving means, means co-ordinating the rotation of thespinner yoke with the plastic strip feed rollers speed and angle, andmeans co-ordinating the rotational speed of the spinner pulley relativeto the feed rollers rotation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS621,735 Arnold Mar. 21, 1899 1,204,342 Cobb Nov. 7, 1916 1,585,615 HeanyMay 18, 1926 1,736,221 Ruf Nov. 19, 1929 1,764,524 Reber June 17, 19302,414,378 Kelman Jan. 14. 1947

